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9 . <br /> have donated food and supplies for work parties. At a recent Pie Auction fund raiser, <br /> three area bakeries and dozens of residents contributed baked goods. During the last <br /> three years PGNA has raised nearly $60,000 in cash and donated thousands of volunteer <br /> hours towards this project. Over$5,000 was raised from 72 donors in the neighborhood <br /> this spring. Broad participation has never been a problem. <br /> Boy Scouts, AmeriCorps volunteers, native plant stewards, a Snohomish County <br /> juvenile diversion program, and local schools have all contributed time to the project. <br /> From the start of the project,Everett Planning Department staff members have given <br /> direction and help with the permitting process. The Parks Department has supplied <br /> consultation and encouragement. Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife has <br /> cooperated with necessary state permitting. The Washington Department of Natural <br /> Resources and the United States Geological Survey have each officially accepted naming <br /> the stream, "Forgotten Creek." Enthusiastic support has come from the Mayor's office <br /> and City Council members as they have supplied needed approvals. Lastly, the land <br /> owner,Everett Public Works Department, has become a valued partner and overall <br /> project supporter contributing plants, dirt, mulch, and dumpsters for work parties. <br /> During this trail-building step of the project, neighborhood volunteers will keep <br /> costs down by grubbing trail sections prior to construction. They will also be involved in <br /> gravelling the trail surface after construction is completed. Over 50 volunteers have <br /> already been involved in the selection and planning for this project through their <br /> participation in four public meetings helping a landscape architect create a formal design <br /> plan. PGNA members will have primary responsibility for maintaining the entire trail <br /> once it has been completed. This is in accordance with a Memorandum of Understanding <br /> now in effect between the City and PGNA. <br /> Community Building <br /> How is this a community building project? How does it help build links among residents <br /> and across the neighborhood as a whole? <br /> The Forgotten Creek Project has gone a long way toward binding community <br /> residents more closely together. People who have lived in the Port Gardner <br /> Neighborhood for years, but did not know each other, have met for the first time at one of <br /> the work parties or community planning meetings. New residents seeking a way to <br /> become acquainted with others, and get involved in the neighborhood use project <br /> participation as an easy transition. Artificial barriers between people such as status and <br /> wealth quickly dissolve as people put on work clothes and attack ivy or do trail work. <br /> The community is becoming more sharply focused on enhancing and protecting <br /> this valuable resource. After investing money and sweat equity in helping to create the <br /> Forgotten Creek Trail, a common bond of stewardship between residents is being forged <br /> across the entire neighborhood. As the young trees we plant grow to maturity, and the <br /> steps we build become gray with age, this green belt should be treasured by generations <br /> of community members long after we are gone. <br /> 7 IS <br /> 2 <br />